Victoria: Restore our John A. MacDonald Statue

Sir John A MacDonald was the first prime minister of our great country, and despite a largely one-sided narrative on his alleged mistreatment of indigenous people, is recognized as being responsible for many great accomplishments, including indigenous people being granted the right to vote! Indigenous people were mistreated here, as in many other countries; not a fact to be proud of, but Sir John A. MacDonald's views were among those common to many if not most other honourable men of his day. Partly because of his viewpoints, the attitudes toward how we treat our indigenous people gradually improved. To this day, it is still not ideal, despite our present day knowledge of the poor conditions many of these proud people must continue to endure. There is still much improvement needed, but offending our country by removing the statue of our founder is not the way to accomplish this needed improvement; it is simply a vain attempt to signal self-imagined virtue.

Sir John A MacDonald's great and numerous accomplishments overshadow the reasons that Mayor Lisa Helps and the majority of city council used as justification as they conspired to secretly remove the statue, obviously knowing that the citizens of Victoria, people who were not consulted on the matter, would surely not approve. Further, it could be that one of the reasons Ms. Helps and her associates conspired to do this deed is that Sir John A. MacDonald was a Conservative, and his statue outside their offices a constant reminder of responsible government that they simply can not or will not provide.

We must stand up to this action - this betrayal of our trust - and demand the return of our statue to its original place outside City Hall. Further, we must insist that the city government cease plotting to remove or rewrite our history, regardless of how this ill-conceived practice suits their political beliefs. If left unchecked, an emboldened civic government will surely commit acts of greater offence.